Analgesic compositions comprising magnesium salts have been used to treat a variety of ailments as well as reduce the gastric irritancy often accompanying the oral administration of such analgesic compositions. U.S. Pat. No. 3,865,933 to Mudge teaches the use of a mixture comprising magnesium gluconate, stramonium extract and 3-(2-methylphenoxy)-1,2-propanediol to relieve headache pain. U.S. Pat. No. 3,759,980 to Rosen et al. teaches the use of a mixture of magnesium salicylate and choline salicylate as an analgesic, anti-pyretic, anti-inflammatory and anti-rheumatic agent. U.S. Pat. No. 3,385,886 to Nicholson et al. teaches the use of phenylpropionic acid magnesium salts for the relief of pain, fever and inflammation. U.S. Pat. No. 3,359,166 to McClure teaches the use of magnesium 4-thiazolidinecarboxylate as an analgesic agent. U.S. Pat. No. 4,083,951 to Goudie et al. teaches the use of magnesium acetylsalicylate in conjunction with sodium bicarbonate as an analgesic having reduced gastric irritancy properties. Such compositions have employed magnesium salts for their
A deficiency of magnesium, i.e., hypomagnesemia, has been suggested to play a role in migraine headaches (B. A. Altura, Magnesium, 4:169 (1985); A. Mauskop et al., Cephalalgia, 14:241 (1994)). It had been shown that low serum ionized magnesium (IMg.sup.2+) levels were found in 42% of patients suffering migraine headaches (A. Mauskop et al., Headache, 33(3):135 (1993)). The magnesium salt of pyrrolidone carboxylic acid has been used to treat women with premenstrual migraine headache (F. Facchinetti et al., Headache, 31(5):298 (1991)). Amino-chelated magnesium compounds have been used to treat patients with classic migraine headache (K. Weaver in "Letter to the Editor," Headache, 30(2):168 (1990)).
When some magnesium-based compositions are administered to patients having migraines, severe headaches or other painful conditions, the slowing of gastric motility which often accompanies these conditions delays the absorption of any medication taken orally. Such a delay in absorption is often more pronounced with tablet than with liquid medicaments. As a result, the onset of action associated with such compositions administered to migraine patients is undesirably delayed, resulting in the prolongation of pain and discomfort to the patient. Thus, there remains a need for compositions which can be used for treating migraine headaches and which are rapidly absorbed and provide rapid onset of action.